Conrail Train
Location: Ramsey, New Jersey Date: May 1, 1989 Story Ramsey, New Jersey is the kind of town where nothing much ever happens. But on Monday, May 1, 1989, something frightening did! Conductor Anthony Falzo was on a short hall from New York to New Jersey with his engineer, Richard Campana. “We had nineteen loaded cars and one engine. We were eastbound on New Jersey Transit approaching Ramsey," remembers Richard. Kate Pritchard was just returning home from doing errands in town. She was wearing a black shirt and white pants. "My usual deal on Monday mornings was to do my grocery shopping. So I packed the kids in the car, we went to the grocery store, and then came home. I guess it was about a quarter till 11:00 when we came home,” said Kate. When Kate and her husband, Gary, were looking for a safe neighborhood in which to raise a family, this place had seemed perfect. “We live in a cul-de-sac with many, many children, and they're always playing out there knowing that they're not allowed in the woods and that they're not allowed to even go near the train tracks at all!” Kate remembers. Kate trusted her three-year-old son, Todd, to look after his one-and-a-half-year-old brother, Scott, while she took the groceries into the house. She was still wearing a black shirt and white pants. “There's such an amazing difference between these two boys. Todd has always been very cautious and more intense. I mean, ever since he was little, if you told him, 'Don't touch that because you'll be hurt if you do,' he wouldn't. And then there's Scott. I think if I had Scott first, I probably wouldn't have had another one till he was in college! He's fearless, he's just basically fearless,” Kate stated matter-of-factly. The tracks are temptingly close, less than 300 feet from the Pritchard family home! While Kate was unloading the groceries and bringing them into the house, Todd and Scott were instructed to stay near the driveway and play. She could hear the distant cry of a train whistle, presumably an Amtrak or possibly a Passenger Express locomotive. "We always had a fear of the tracks. In the back of your mind, you would think, 'God, I just hope these kids learn that they should never go there!'" remembers Kate. But on this morning, they did. Todd and Scott made their way through the woods to play on the tracks just beyond. As Anthony and Richard made their way into Ramsey, the sound of the speeding train caught the attention of the boys. After making their way through the trees, they climbed to the top of the steep roadbed, knelt down along the tracks, and began to play with their toy cars and trucks. Meanwhile, the train was chugging along down the railway at a speed of 40 miles per hour. “I saw something moving and it moved like something alive, not like wind blowing something. Whatever it was, we were gonna hit it!” said Richard. Within seconds of realizing it was two children, Richard slammed down on the emergency brakes and blew the train whistle at full power! The whistle's blast and Anthony's words exploded at the same time: “Kids on the track!” “When the engineer just let his hand down on that train whistle and it just kept blowing, I just had this horrible gut feeling that something was definitely wrong with the boys,” said Kate sadly. Anthony sprang through the cab door onto a narrow running board six feet above the wheels and raced to the front of the swaying train. Climbing quickly down a steel ladder, he paused at the bottom, two feet above the roadbed flashing by. Now he could clearly see the two children. They were sitting alongside the rail. Anthony waved wildly, but they could barely hear his voice over the loud whistle. “Get away! Get away!” Anthony shouted frantically. Kate remembers running toward the tracks from the driveway. “I couldn't get out there fast enough. Those legs of mine just wouldn't move fast enough. I got to the end of the driveway and the whole time, I was screaming out for Todd. I was just screaming his name,” said Kate. Anthony lost view from the front of the engine and couldn't see in front of him. The wide snow plow on the front of the train had only 12 inches of clearance. Even with the brakes on, the weight of the 250-ton train carried it more than a hundred feet past where the boys were playing on the tracks. As soon as it stopped, I jumped off to see what happened and if Tony was all right. I thought, 'That little boy was killed,'” said Richard. Anthony asked Richard to go and call a dispatcher and tell them they need police and an ambulance, and Richard said OK. "I just remember seeing the snow plow hit the smallest child in the head. Automatically, I'm thinking, 'He's gonna have severe head injuries.'" said Anthony sadly. Meanwhile, Todd was jumping up and down on the railway, crying hysterically. "Oh my God, what happened?" asked Kate frantically. Anthony twisted to face her. "Ma'am," he said, his voice calm, "go back to your house. Call the police and ambulance." Kate, only half hearing him, extended her arms to take her baby. Anthony spoke again, more sharply, "Ma'am, listen! Go to your house and call the police—call an ambulance. Go!" At 11:05 AM, Kate's call for help came in. Fifteen-year veteran Glenn Carpovich was the first responding officer on the scene. "When I heard the call, I expected the worst. Normally, a person involved with a train to any degree is a fatal accident," said Glenn. After Kate made the calls, she then reached her husband, Gary, via his beeper. "I dialed my husband, and I said, 'Scott was hit by a train. Just get home as fast as you can.' I did not know the danger of what state Scott was in. Blood was coming out of his nose, his mouth, and the top of his head. Anthony said, 'We gotta get you to the hospital.' And I said, 'Please just wait a few more minutes for my husband.' Knowing that if he got there and saw us gone, the poor guy would've just fallen apart! I wanted him there with me," remembers Kate. Category:1989 Category:New Jersey Category:Railroad Accidents